


Memories of a Distant Past

by starsurfer108



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-04
Updated: 2018-02-04
Packaged: 2019-03-13 12:36:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,050
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13570713
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/starsurfer108/pseuds/starsurfer108
Summary: The setting is that Lotor is made enemy of the state by Zarkon, and he seeks asylum with the Voltron force. Might move quickly at times but I just want to cover the major points rather than pad it ;)Note that some facts might not be canon as I’ve mostly seen the first season. Enjoy!





	Memories of a Distant Past

 

“You are to remain in here until we have a clear understanding of your intentions,” Allura said strongly while the prison door activated, trapping Lotor.

Lotor didn’t react; he just stood there with a bemused expression.

Allura turned and walked away briskly, trying not to let his lack of reaction get to her.

~~~

“Princess…?”

“Hm!” Allura looked around, startled, only to find the team staring at her. “Oh! I must have been distracted… would you repeat that?” she said, running a hand over her hair apologetically.

Keith blinked. Normally she was always at her peak, always wanting to show strong leadership. “We were wondering what you thought our next move would be.”

“Lotor is not a hostage as such; it seems as if Zarkon and Haggar hold little regard for him. His main value is a source of information. I am not sure if he can be considered an ally. He wants power, after all. Of course, there’s always a chance he is a double agent, sent to destroy us.”

Keith blinked. “So… we interrogate him?”

“Perhaps it would be better if I interrogate him. I am female, and he thinks I’m weaker.”

Hunk shot a compassionate look at Pidge.

Pidge shrugged. “Hey, I could hook him up to a lie detector if you want, if we’re sticking to the ‘Girl Power’ theme.”

Allura realised her mistake. “Er, thank you, Pidge, but that won’t be necessary. Just leave him with me. He has to believe he has the upper hand if we are ever to get the truth from him.”

With that, she turned and left, leaving the others concerned for her welfare.

~~~

Allura lay in bed, staring out at the beautiful space panorama. It was hard for her to sleep; while they didn’t have traditional sleeping hours given that they weren’t on a planet, she still tried to get about six hours after eighteen hours of activity.

It was useless. She couldn’t stop thinking of Lotor.

Realising there was no point in trying to sleep, she jumped up and made her way to the holding bay.

~~~

Lotor looked relaxed in his cell, stretching out on his bed with his arms folded behind his head. His blue eyes widened ever so slightly when he saw that it was her.

Annoyed at getting no reaction, Allura gripped her fist. “I want you to give me information.”

That made Lotor open his eyes fully. He swung his legs over the side of the bed. “Do you trust me?” he said with a smirk.

“Yes,” Allura replied strongly, bluffing that she could tell if he was lying or not. She knew she was in a vulnerable position, being open to misinformation and manipulation.

“Then come in.”

Recovering from her momentary shock, her instinctual response was to show that she was strong. With a hand press, the barrier disappeared and she walked in. “I’m stronger than I look,” she warned.

The next thing she knew, she was pressed against the wall, her hands pinned above her by one of his. “So am I,” he said with a smirk.

She began to panic. This had been a very, very bad idea. “Lotor… what are you…” she stammered as he leaned in closer. She watched as his cruel, predatory eyes softened and became distant. She realised that he was inhaling her scent as he breathed deeply.

Surprisingly, he let her go. Turning away from her, he said “So what information do you want? About the current Galra defences, or of Altea?”

“You know about Altea?” she blurted out, despite the fact her position as ruler would require her to prioritise Galra intel.

“A little,” he replied, subdued, sitting on the bed. “My memories are very distant… over ten thousand years old. But your smell is… making them clearer.”

“Ten thousand?” cried Allura. “Then you-”

“I have not lived all of the last ten thousand years,” replied Lotor, chuckling a little. “But I have outlived my natural lifespan, through the use of quintessence and cryo-replenishment.”

“Please tell me what you know about Altea,” Allura pleaded, dashing towards him and placing both her hands on his cheeks.

Lotor looked taken aback at the intrusion to his personal space, and the girl with small tears in her eyes who seemed to have forgotten that they were enemies only 24 hours ago.

Allura jumped, becoming self-aware. She pulled back, looking at the floor. “F-forgive me, I didn’t mean to-”

“So what stories do you want me to tell?”

Allura gave a delighted look as she jumped on the bed and sat next to him.

He marvelled at the way she didn’t seem cautious at all and was eagerly hanging onto his every word. Did she not know diplomacy at all? Wasn’t she wary?

A faint smirk appeared on his face as he began to tell her stories of old.

~~~

Allura stirred, then breathed in sharply, stretching in her bed when she woke up. Only it wasn’t her bed.

She let out a soft “Eek” as she realised she was still in the holding cell and Lotor was lying next to her, observing her. He raised his eyebrows inquisitively.

“Erm, thank you for everything you said last night,” she said, abashed.

“One of the stories must have been really boring,” he replied, dryly.

“Oh, no, not at all! I was simply really tired,” she said, giggling, turning to make a dash for the door.

“Allura.” He grabbed her wrist and pulled her back towards him. She went limp in defence, knowing he was stronger. The moment of fear melted away as she gazed into his eyes.

“I’ll tell you as many stories about Altea as you would like to hear, as long as you’re in the room with me.”

She gaped, realising that he enjoyed remembering the past as well. “Thank you,” she said, genuine delight gushing forth.

He released her, and she left.

~~~

Night after night she’d crept into his cell to hear more about Altea, typically either pushing herself with lack of sleep or waking up next to him. For some reason, she knew that their mutual love for the past was a truce, and she could trust him with her safety.

Alarms suddenly went off. “It’s the Galra,” she whispered, terrified that they weren’t prepared. “H-how did they…”

“You’ve certainly invited the lion into your den,” said Lotor, smirking.

She gasped at the implication that he’d been the reason they could track, and she ran out, locking the cell.

~~~

After many days of battle, it finally happened. The lack of sleep caught up to Allura, and she was severely injured due to her slower reaction time.

When she came to, Coran was trying to put her in a cryo-replenisher.

“Stop, Coran!” she spluttered weakly.

“I must do this, Princess! You are close to your limits!” he replied.

“It doesn’t matter,” she yelled, wincing from the pain in one of her ribs. “That large ship is transporting Zarkon and Haggar themselves, and they won’t have a chance without Voltron!”

“Get away from her,” snarled Lotor, pointing a gun at Coran.

Coran didn’t move, wanting to protect the Princess.

Lotor moved forward to pick her up.

“What are you doing?” Coran demanded.

“Giving her what she wants, you pathetic servant,” he spat.

He gathered her in one arm and held onto the zipline in the tunnel towards the Blue Lion.

“Why are you helping me?” she asked weakly.

“I can barely believe that I remember the past so clearly,” he said softly. “My mother was a very kindhearted and loving Altean… at least, before the quintessence warped her and my father. You smell so… Altean.”

They arrived in the cockpit.

“What do I do?” he asked, sitting on the chair with her on his lap, supporting her.

“It’s all telepathic,” she said, drifting out of consciousness.

Lotor’s eyes widened. “Hang on, Princess.” He opened his mind. The Blue Lion gave a roar and jumped into the air.

“What the hell…” Keith said, realising who was in the Blue Lion, shocked that Lotor could pilot the thing.

His implicit question was answered as Lotor took down a cluster of fighters.

He should’ve felt guilty for attacking his own troops, but instead, he felt guilty for not feeling guilty. Whatever he felt with Allura was more real to him, more precious than anything the Galra empire had to offer.

“We need to form Voltron,” shouted Keith.

Telepathic, huh? Lotor’s high intelligence knew that he would have to share the goal of the others in order to work together and merge.

He’d held onto hope that somewhere there was still a parental feeling inside of them, but that hope was dashed when they’d declared him an enemy. And the rest of the Galra were pawns of this… emptiness.

“Urgh…” Allura said, groaning, drifting back.

“Hang on, Princess,” Lotor whispered as he let his defences go and aligned Blue Lion.

Voltron was formed; they had a clear opening.

With a shout of rage, Lotor’s intentions merged with the others to destroy the command ship. The sword slashed down the side, causing a massive explosion with all the quintessence stored.

Allura’s eyes widened. “Lotor…”

“I’d grieved my parents long ago,” he said dismissively.

They disbanded and made their way back to the Castle of Lions, the lions crackling from damage.

Lotor carried Allura back into the medic bay and into a pod.

“She’ll be OK,” Coran said, breathing out a sigh of relief.

A signal went off. “We’re being hailed,” said Coran, pressing a button to reveal the remaining generals of the Galra.

“The demise of the Emperor is your work, is it not,” said the general directly addressing Lotor.

“I had seen enough,” Lotor replied strongly. “I did what I did not for selfish reasons, but because I had seen the darkness that was enveloping the Galra and all other civilisations. Under Zarkon, if the universe was conquered, he would still want to conquer more. He would turn against his own people and continue to destroy. I did what I did for the safety and prosperity of the Galra people, to ensure that there is a glorious future ahead of us. We can rightfully be masters of the galaxy, but not through endless destruction.”

The generals looked at one another and nodded, sensing that his words rang true, backed by Zarkon’s lack of any human feeling. “We await your command, Emperor Lotor.”

Lotor nodded. “Cease the attack, repair all damage and account the remaining personnel.”

The generals raised their hand to their chest in a salute, and the screen went blank.

Having sustained some damage, Lotor staggered back.

“Perhaps you would like to be in a pod,” Coran suggested.

“Get back!” Lotor snarled.

Coran rolled his eyes. “Then perhaps a bed would be sufficient.”

Lotor nodded, and brusquely followed Coran.

~~~

“The Galra have sent a ship to collect you,” Coran announced to Emperor Lotor.

Lotor frowned, wanting more information.

“And she is awake,” Coran added.

Lotor immediately jumped out of bed.

The Galra soldiers saluted him as he walked into the docking bay. The other Paladins stood around, still wary.

Allura staggered in, followed by a concerned Coran.

“Emperor Lotor,” she said, gripping to the side. “It must be very different to have lived through ten thousand years between the time that I remember and the present. Perhaps one day I can hear your own story.”

His eyes widened at the friendly gesture, but he did not give any further response.

Allura gulped, wishing that he hadn’t offended him. “I hope that you have found your stay here pleasing, so that we may continue constructive diplomacy in the future.”

Lotor nodded, used to having a hard shell around other Galra. “Let’s go,” he commanded.

He entered the Galra ship with his entourage and it took off. Bitter, he turned around and was shocked to see that Allura had followed him. She looked physically weak, but was eagerly gazing at him.

Realisation finally dawned on Allura, seeing his shock. “Oh… when you wanted people to follow you, you didn’t mean me.” She looked sad and abashed.

Lotor stepped close to her. “Yes, I did,” he said, and leaned forward to give her a tender kiss. She blushed and smiled shyly, further confirming her own feelings.

 

 


End file.
